How can I help you say goodbye?
by Clarity23
Summary: Caroline finally returns to Mystic Falls and Hope has questions. For example: why exactly does her headmistress have that fabulous dress, which was apparently a gift from her dad? One shot.


**_Hello there people :)_**

**_I recently caught two episodes of Legacies and immediately felt the need to write this. I mean... Hope definitely needs to talk with Caroline about Klaus one day and if that never happens... well, here you've got a little something I came up with. Not really my best work but it had to be done._**

**_Happy holidays!_**

_Disclaimer: I don't own the lyrics I shamelessly used to add some substance to my one shot._

* * *

_And she said, "How can I help you_

_to say goodbye? It's okay to hurt and it's okay to cry._

_Come let me hold you and I will try_

* * *

It was just one of those days. They occurred at somewhat regular intervals and Hope had gotten used to them. She did not know, what exactly had caused the melancholy now. Maybe it was the fact that Christmas was imminent and most of the pupils were leaving school to be with their families. Maybe it was the tearful reunion between Lizzie, Josie and their mom she had witnessed two days ago. Maybe it was the plane ticket on her desk which reminded her that she was going back home in a few hours. Whatever it was, Hope had to fight hard to not let the tears spill as she looked at the family photo which had been taken years ago. Her dad, looking somewhat morose like only he could and probably questioning the artistic merit of a selfie. Her mom, just so beautiful in her eternal youth holding a little baby Hope and her uncle Elijah, dressed in a classic suit and smiling contentedly right behind her mom. The only people from the picture still alive were her and aunt Rebekah.

She quickly wiped away one treacherous tear and put the frame back down when she heard a knock on her door. She cleared her throat and granted the waiting person permission to enter.

She was surprised to find Caroline Forbes-Salvatore poking her head into the room and asking. "Hey Hope. Can I come in?"

The teen nodded. "Sure, Ms Salvatore!"

"Hope, you're already on your winter break. You know you can call me Caroline."

The girl nodded lightly and watched the older woman. Well, technically she knew she was stuck at seventeen, but the way Caroline dressed and carried herself indicated that she was older than her appearance portrayed.

The headmistress of the Salvatore school had just returned from a recruiting trip all over the world, which had taken her nearly one and a half years. Considering the fact, that she had not returned with any new students, Hope doubted that the trip really had anything to do with recruiting. However, it was not her place to ask about her past whereabouts. All that mattered was the happiness the twins showed when their mom had finally returned home.

The tribrid swallowed a lump in her throat. "How can I help you?"

The blonde smiled kindly at the student and once again, Hope could not help but admire how pretty she was. A smile of hers could light up an entire room and it was no surprise that the whole student body loved her to death. Sure, Alaric was beloved as well and everybody respected him. It was Caroline however, who always made sure the students feel at home in Mystic Falls and that they could always come to her with their problems. She was also much less lenient in regards to her daughters and did not tolerate Lizzie's mean comments towards other students. The lack of her presence had definitely been felt at the Salvatore school during her months of absence.

"I was just wondering how you were doing. We haven't really been able to catch up yet."

"I'm alright. There have been a few…mishaps, but everything's good now."

Caroline looked sympathetically at the teen. "I know, the girls told me about it. I hope you know that you can talk to me if anything is bothering you, right?"

The girl nodded, showing a small smile.

Caroline's eyes swept through her room and she saw the tiara perched on Hope's bookshelf. "Ah, I heard about that too. As former Miss Mystic Falls I can say, I'm really proud that you're continuing my legacy." Hope looked at her in surprise. "You're not disappointed that Josie or Lizzie didn't win?"

The blonde waved her off. "Of course not. Sure, it would have been nice to share that with my daughters, but I never wanted them to feel pressured to participate or win on my behalf. Back in the day, my friend Elena took part in the pageant because of her deceased mother. She did it to feel close to her again, not because she enjoyed it. I suppose that's why my girls were so eager to win that little crown. They were missing me."

Hope contemplated her words and there was thoughtful silence between them for a while. Then Caroline spoke up again. "You're all set for your trip to New Orleans? Please give your family my regards. Oh, and tell your aunt Rebekah that we're not changing the school uniforms _again_ just because she's not pleased with the variety we offer."

Hope chuckled and she turned to leave, door opened already.

"Wait! Ms Sal- Caroline…can I ask you something?"

The blonde turned around and stopped, encouraging for the teenager to continue.

"At the Miss Mystic pageant… Lizzie gave me a dress of yours to wear and I heard them say something. Did…Did my dad give that dress to you?"

Caroline paused in surprise, not having expected to hear such a question. Of course, she immediately knew which dress she was talking about. It was the regally beautiful light blue gown Klaus had surprised her with years ago to wear to their grand ball. It's place was usually in a clothing bag in her wardrobe, right next to the magnificent white prom dress, which had been another gift from the original hybrid.

Finally, she sighed. "Yes, I got that dress from your father."

Hope took her words in, not looking surprised but rather relieved that she had gotten the confirmation from the owner herself.

"I know it's probably not really my place to ask this…but where you and my dad close? I asked Josie once and she could only tell me that you knew him even before I was born. I was just wondering if there was more to it." The girl finally finished and looked expectantly at her headmistress.

The vampire was irresolute, door knob still in her hand. She had wondered if it would happen one day. If Hope, smart as she was, would one day figure out that Caroline had known Klaus well; that he had been more than just the father of a student or a casual acquaintance. However, she had not expected it to be so soon after she returned home. And she had expected that she would at least know what to tell her exactly. A part of her wanted to tell her that they had been allies; enemies at the beginning and later something resembling friends. Not telling her anything about her personal entanglement with the hybrid would probably be even better. Alas, the powerful and mature young woman looked at her with pleading eyes, begging her to tell her something about a father she had lost so soon in her life.

Caroline sighed deeply and closed the door again. She motioned at the bed. "Let's sit down, okay?"

The girl followed her order and they sat on her lavender comforter, facing each other.

"Before I tell you anything at all, I need you to know something. When your dad first came to Mystic Falls, he was trying to break the curse which had banned his werewolf side. He did some pretty bad things and didn't exactly plan to make any friends coming here."

Hope shook her head lightly. "You don't need to sugar-coat anything for me, Caroline. I know who my dad was and some of the things he did. I'm not naïve. I also know what it means to be part of the Mikaelson family. It's not exactly the Brady bunch."

Caroline smiled softly at the girl's words. "And yet you loved your dad. And that's okay; he loved you too, more than anything else in the world."

Hope swallowed hard and looked away. The blonde quickly continued.

"I just wanted to tell you that beforehand to explain some things. Your dad and I had a special relationship. But it was very complicated and sometimes hostile at the beginning."

"Why? What did he do?"

"Well, I told you that he wanted to break the curse. In order to achieve that, he needed the blood of my friend Elena and to sacrifice a werewolf and a vampire."

Hope looked at her in shock. "He wanted to sacrifice you?"

Caroline cringed. Maybe she should have started telling the story differently? "In his defense, he didn't even know me at the time." Judging from Hope's look, that did not do much to better things. Well, it was not the strongest defense.

"It's ah… let's just say, we had quite some problems with him. And at first it was just him and your uncle Elijah. Later, the whole Mikaelson clan arrived in Mystic Falls. They organized this huge, fancy party and your dad invited me. That's when he sent me the dress you were wearing to Miss Mystic."

Hope frowned. "Wait, how did you go from attempted sacrifice to ball invitations and gift giving?"

Caroline racked her brain on how to portray Klaus' actions in a better light for Hope. It really was not of any use to tell his daughter about her father's bad behavior back in the day. Especially after he had tried to get better for her.

"Well, sometime after lifting the curse, he healed me from a werewolf bite. And our relationship slowly started turning from enemies to…I don't even know what it was at the time but there was a lot of bickering involved. Sometimes flirty. He started fancying me."

Hope giggled and Caroline joined her. "He did?"

"His words, not mine. Anyway, your family stayed in Mystic Falls longer than anticipated but eventually just ceased from being the biggest threat to our little gang. For a while, we even had the same enemy that we had to get rid of." Caroline mused, thinking back at Silas and his mind games not even Klaus had been immune to.

"Then one day I just got to the point where I trusted your dad enough to feel safe around him. My friends would have probably thought I was nuts or naïve for trusting Klaus Mikealson of all people, but it just happened. He somehow managed to work his way into my heart."

Hope beamed up at her. "So, you were together at a point?"

The vampire shook her head. "No, it was more of a weird friendship with the hint of something more at the time. He did give me a romantic promise at my high school graduation but… well, I had a boyfriend at the time and your dad had to go to New Orleans."

Hope looked down somewhat disappointed. "And he didn't come back?"

Caroline smiled, keeping their little (mind-blowing) encounter in the woods to herself. "He had one very good reason to stay." She put her hand on Hope's and the teen's expression brightened again.

"Did you love him?"

The tribrid's question caught Caroline off guard. Truth be told, she had asked herself the same thing many times over the years. Had she been attracted to Klaus? Obviously, very much. Had she trusted him? Enough to seek him out for help when she was in danger. Did she mourn his death? More than she liked to admit.

"In a way, I did. I will always wonder if we would have had a chance together."

Hope nodded slowly and her eyes watered. She let out a small, heart-breaking sob. Caroline immediately hugged her closely.

"I miss him so much." She let out through sorrowful weeping.

"I know." Caroline whispered. I do too.

It took a while for Hope to calm down and many encouraging words and caresses from Caroline.

Eventually, she had collected herself and wiped her tear-stained face. "I guess I should finish getting ready. The bus to the airport is leaving soon." She said, voice still coarse from crying.

"Do you want me to help you?" Caroline asked kindly.

"No, everything's packed up, thanks. And thank you for telling me about my dad." The tribrid attempted a small smile and Caroline stroked her cheek before she got up to leave her alone.

Her hand was on the door knob when Hope stopped her once again.

"Caroline, I…" She paused and cleared her throat. "I'm sure you would have made him happy."

The vampire smiled tenderly at the girl. "I know _you_ did. Have a wonderful Christmas, Hope."

* * *

_I'm gonna carry you in my head_

_in my heart, _

_in my soul._


End file.
